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The Central Highlands |
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This high-lying expanse of this miraculous island hide-away is where monarchs reigned and slave traders skulked. It is the region of long dead volcanoes and the medieval capital, Antananarivo. It is the area where craft markets abound: wood carvings, embroidery and basketry are some of the more popular crafts snapped up by travellers. These are just a few Madagascar safari highlights – but for the full picture, fling on your backpack and head for this well kept African secret.
The highlands consist of a variety of landscapes,
such as rounded and eroded hills, massive granite outcrops,
extinct volcanoes, eroded pen plains, and alluvial plains and
marshes, which have been converted into irrigated rice fields.
A prominent feature of this region is a rift valley running north
to south, located east of Antananarivo. This region has experienced
geological subsidence, and earth tremors are frequent here.
Antananarivo
Also known as 'Tana', it is situated in the Central Highlands and set
in a basin surrounded by 12 hills, with much of the surrounding countryside
devoted to rice paddies. It is the Malagasy capital and the centre of the
Merina tribe – the Malayo-Polynesian decedents of the first Malagasy settlers.
Much of the city seems to have been bypassed by the 20th century,and can only be
described as medieval. It's a fascinating city with an interesting market and a
number of churches and museums. The houses of highland towns are typically
multi-story brick constructions, often with wooden staircases and balconies,
built along narrow, cobbled streets and alleyways.
Places of interest here include the markets, the Parc de Tsimbazaza
zoo, museum, botanical gardens as well as a selection of restaurants and night-life.
Handicraft Markets
These markets are not open on Sundays and are popular vist for toursists. Most noteworthy
items include the embroidery,basketry, woodcarving, minerals, leatherwork
and Antaimoro handmade paper embedded with flowers. Toursists needt to be beware of pickpockets.
Lemurs Park
Great for those on a quick trip who are unable to see the lemurs in their normal habitat is a visit
to this park.
The Ankaratra Mountains
This volcanic mountainous region in central Madagascar covers an area of
approximately 5,200 square km and height of 2,643 m in Mount Tsiafajavona,
the nation's second highest peak. The main range runs south-southwest from
the town of Antananarivo Once a mosaic of forest, brush, and grassland, the
region is now largely deforested..
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